March 2016
Price Situation in the Cordillera
Consumer Price Index (CPI)
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the general measure of the change in the average
retail prices of a market basket or collection of goods and services commonly
purchased by the average Filipino household.
The Consumer Price Index of CAR in March 2016 was 141.1, higher by 2.7 index points
from last year’s 138.4.
Generally, CPI increases in all the provinces reflecting the increase in the average
prices of goods and services.
Table 1. Consumer Price Index by Province, CAR:
March 2015 and March 2016
(2006=100)
Province
March
Index Point
Change
2015
2016
CAR
138.4
141.1
2.7
Abra
130.0
133.1
3.1
Apayao
130.2
132.1
1.9
Benguet
141.2
142.3
1.1
Ifugao
141.8
147.2
5.4
Kalinga
132.7
136.6
3.9
Mt. Province
142.3
150.3
8.0
Among the provinces, Mountain Province posted the highest CPI at 150.3 followed by
Ifugao at 147.2 and Benguet at 142.3. Apayao had the lowest CPI at 132.1.
In terms of index point change, Mountain Province experienced the highest increase at
8.0, while Benguet had the least at 1.1 compared to the same period in 2015.
CPI SPECIAL RELEASE
PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY - CORDILLERA ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
Volume XVI No.III
CPI by Commodity Groups
Among the commodity groups, alcoholic beverages and tobacco recorded the highest
CPI with 198.3 in the region. Among the provinces, Apayao was the highest with
217.9 followed by Abra and Kalinga at 204.5 and 202.8 index points, respectively.
Education came next at 159.9 index points. Among the provinces, Mt. Province
incurred the highest index for the month at 228.8.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages were at 154.6 index point with Benguet
experiencing the highest at 159.9, followed by Mountain Province at 159.7.
Communication had the lowest CPI among the commodity groups in the region with
Abra having the highest index at 111.4; while Apayao had the lowest at 77.7.
Across provinces, Apayao posted the lowest index for all items.
Table 2. Consumer Price Index by Commodity Group and by Province,
CAR: March 2016
(2006=100)
Commodity Group
Province
CAR
Abra
Apayao
Benguet
Ifugao
Kalinga
Mt.
Province
All Items
141.1
133.1
132.1
142.3
147.2
136.6
150.3
Food and Non-Alcoholic
Beverages
154.6
142.1
150.4
159.9
155.1
146.3
159.7
Alcoholic Beverages &
Tobacco
198.3
204.5
217.9
200.9
178.1
202.8
179.4
Clothing and Footwear
130.7
144.3
117.3
125.5
146.1
122.2
145.4
Housing, Water, Electricity,
Gas and Other Fuels
129.8
113.8
101.7
139.7
140.7
109.4
128.6
Furnishing, Household
Equipment and Routine
Maintenance of the House
129.4
123.7
114.1
133.6
117.6
135.8
135.0
Health
130.9
122.7
110.5
137.2
114.5
126.0
132.8
Transport
129.9
147.6
113.3
128.1
130.4
145.7
120.6
Communication
83.1
111.4
77.7
79.8
101.0
78.7
87.3
Recreation and Culture
108.0
108.5
116.0
105.3
105.1
114.7
112.5
Education
159.9
146.0
140.9
146.9
170.7
164.6
228.8
Restaurants
and Miscellaneous Goods
and Services
129.5
119.4
133.0
124.9
147.9
133.4
150.1
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CPI Special Release
By index point change, education recorded the highest change at 12.5 points. This
was followed by alcoholic beverages and tobacco and food and non-alcoholic
beverages at 11.4 and 4.3 points, respectively.
The rest of the commodity groups reported a minimal annual increase in their index
points. On the other hand, Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels decreased
by 1.1 points.
Note:
1
includes Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance of the House
2
includes Miscellaneous Goods and Services
Inflation Rate
The overall change in prices of goods and services in March 2016 in CAR was a
decrease of 2.0 percent, lower by 0.5 percentage points from March 2015 at 2.5
percent.
Mt. Province posted the highest inflation with 5.6 percent, an increase of 3.6
percentage points from last year’s 2.0 percent, followed by Ifugao, Kalinga and Abra
with 3.8, 2.9 and 2.4 percent, respectively.
As compared last year, the rates of price decreases in Apayao, and Benguet.
Figure 1. Year-on-Year Consumer Price Index by Commodity Group,
CAR: March 2015 and March 2016
(2006=100)
138.4
150.3
186.9
128.3
130.9
127.4
129.2
129.6
83.1
107.3
147.4
126.6
141.1
154.6
198.3
130.7
129.8
129.4
130.9
129.9
83.1
108.0
159.9
129.5
0
50
100
150
200
250
All Items
Food & Non-
Alcoholic Beverages
Alcoholic Beverages
& Tobacco
Clothing &
Footwear
Housing,
Water,Elec., Gas &
Other Fuels
Furnishings1
Health
Transport
Communication
Recreation and
Culture
Education
Restaurant2
March, 2015 March, 2016
2.7
2.4
1.7
0.3
0.0
0.7
12.5
2.9
-1.1
2.0
4.3
11.4
page 4
CPI Special Release
By Commodity Group, Month-on-Month
By commodity, the year-on-year growth of the heavily-weighted food and non-
alcoholic beverages index in the Cordillera accelerated to 2.9 percent compared to
2.3 during the previous month.
Inflation in education remained the highest in the region with 8.5 percent. Followed by
alcoholic beverages and tobacco with 6.1 percent.
For transport that posted a negative rate last month, accelerated to 0.2 percent; while
housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels rates dropped to -0.8 percent.
Table 3. Year-on-Year Inflation Rates by Commodity Groups, CAR:
March 2016 and February 2016 (2006 = 100)
Commodity Group
Inflation Rates
March
February
All Items
2.0
1.9
Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages
2.9
2.3
Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco
6.1
5.7
Clothing and Footwear
1.9
1.8
Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels
-0.8
0.2
Furnishing, Household Equipment
& Routine Maintenance of the House
1.6
1.3
Health
1.3
1.3
Transport
0.2
-0.5
Communication
0.0
0.0
Recreation and Culture
0.7
0.8
Education
8.5
8.5
Restaurants and Miscellaneous Goods and Services
2.3
2.5
Figure 2. Year-on-Year Inflation Rates by Province, CAR:
March 2015 and March 2016
(2006=100)
2.5
0.7
2.0
3.8
0.9
0.2
2.0 2.0
2.4
1.5
0.8
3.8
2.9
5.6
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
CAR Abra Apayao Benguet Ifugao Kalinga Mt.
Province
March, 2015 March, 2016
page 5
CPI Special Release
By Food Items, Year-on-Year
Generally, the year-on-year inflation rates modestly accelerated for all food items.
Vegetables and Corn persisted to have the highest price increases in March 2016
with 8.6 and 8.0 percent, respectively.
The lower prices of meat contributed to continued negative annual inflation rate of the
commodity.
Table 4. Year-on-Year Inflation Rates of Selected Food Items, CAR:
March and February 2016 and 2015
(2006 = 100)
*Includes flour, cereal preparation, bread, pasta and other bakery products
Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP)
The value of the peso in CAR dropped to 71 centavos from last year’s 72 centavos.
This means that the market value of goods and services worth 71 centavos in March
2006 were bought at one peso in March 2016.
Compared to March 2015, the PPP of all the provinces decreased.
Apayao had the highest peso value at 76 centavos followed by Abra at 75 centavos
and Kalinga at 73 centavos. Meanwhile, Mountain Province had the lowest peso
value at 67 centavos.
Food Items
2016
2015
Inflation Rates
March
February
March
February
Current
Previous
Bread and Cereals
153.2
152.8
150.9
151.0
1.5
1.2
Rice
149.7
149.1
146.7
146.8
2.0
1.6
Corn
169.4
169.1
156.9
157.2
8.0
7.6
Other Cereals*
164.6
164.8
165.1
165.1
-0.3
-0.2
Meat
133.3
133.6
134.1
134.3
-0.6
-0.5
Fish
175.4
167.1
162.6
162.5
7.9
2.8
Milk, Cheese and Eggs
136.7
136.6
134.0
133.5
2.0
2.3
Oils and Fats
180.1
179.9
178.4
178.1
1.0
1.0
Fruits
196.5
199.3
190.1
190.0
3.4
4.9
Vegetables
171.6
175.5
158.0
162.5
8.6
8.0
Sugar, Jam, Honey,
Chocolate &
Confectionery
136.5
136.2
132.8
133.2
2.8
2.3
Food Products, N.E.C.
170.9
173.3
169.8
170.3
0.6
1.8
page 6
CPI Special Release
Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a general measure of the change in the average retail prices of a market basket
or collection of goods and services commonly purchased by the average Filipino household.
Inflation Rate (IR) is the rate of change in the average price level between two periods (year-on year/month-on-
month as measured by the CPI).
Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP)
measures how much the peso in the reference year is worth in another
year.
Base Year (BY) is the reference point of the index number series, at which the index number is set to zero.
Market Basket (MB) is a sample of goods and services used to represent all goods and services produced or
bought.
For more information, please contact:
Mail: PSA - CAR, Regional Office
141 Abanao Extension, Baguio City
Tel. Nos.: (074) 442-7449
Telefax No.: (074) 443-7763
Email: socd_psacar@yahoo.com
psacordillera@yahoo.com.ph
Technical Notes
Figure 3. Purchasing Power of the Peso by Province,
CAR: March 2015 and March 2016
(2006=100)
0.72
0.77 0.77
0.71 0.71
0.75
0.70
0.71
0.75
0.76
0.70
0.68
0.73
0.67
0.62
0.64
0.66
0.68
0.7
0.72
0.74
0.76
0.78
CAR Abra Apayao Benguet Ifugao Kalinga Mt.
Province
March, 2015 March, 2016